Chapter 3
Rowan
Talyn’s head cracks against the rock. His eyes widen, then narrow to slits of pure, undiluted rage.
Ellie smiles. Then, with a second stroke of genius level timing, my favorite aeromancer sends a whirlwind of dirt and debris right into the attacking fae.
I make a mental note, somewhere in the back of my adrenaline-flooded mind, to never underestimate my best friend’s appetite for calculated chaos.
Unfortunately, the element of surprise is a short lived alley and within moments the entire clearing erupts into melee. Blood snaking from his hairline, Talyn is back on his feet, cursing alongside the rest of his patrol as they set about cutting Ellie and me out of the pack.
The blue-haired fae breaks through first, his face set with hatred that should be reserved for monsters and tyrants, not for a mediocre alchemist who can barely finish a training run without passing out.
Which is exactly what I’m about to do. My heel catches on an exposed root—of course it does—and I go sprawling, dragging the still leg-shackled Ellie down with me in a heap of tangled limbs and embarrassment.
“Reece!” Talyn shouts, still struggling against Kai’s assault. “We take them alive!”
Reece snarls, a sound more animal than fae. His blade arcs toward my face.
A wall of fur and muscle collides with Reece a heartbeat before his blade can fillet me open. It’s Logan—the terrifying wolf Logan—slamming into the male in a nightmare of midnight fur and white-hot teeth, moving so fast he blurs at the edges.
Reece goes flying backward, a startled yelp escaping his lips as Logan's bulk sends him crashing into the underbrush. I scramble back, dragging the still leg-shackled Ellie with me as leaves and twigs explode from the impact point. There's a sickening crack—bone or branch, I can't tell—and then a flash that’s becoming familiar.
Where Reece had fallen, a russet wolf now crouches, lips pulled back over glistening teeth. He lunges forward, jaws snapping. Reece is smaller than Logan but quicker, darting in to tear at Logan's flank before dancing away.
The wolves circle each other, hackles raised, growls vibrating the air around us. Logan feints left, then drives forward with shocking speed for something so massive. Reece dodges, but not quite fast enough. Logan's teeth graze his shoulder, drawing blood. The wolves pull back for a heartbeat then rush at each other with renewed savagery.
Teeth snap. Claws rake. Blood spatters the forest floor in crimson droplets. I can't tell whose it is. They're moving too fast, a tornado of fur and fangs, rolling across the clearing with stomach churning violence.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I watch, only vaguely aware that Kai and Kyrian are holding the line with the others. Two against four. But they are the right two.
A heart stopping snarl yanks my attention back to the wolves. It happens so fast, I almost miss it. Logan feints right, pivots,and lunges—all in one impossibly precise movement. His weight crashes down, pinning Reece with a single, devastating strike.
Reece thrashes under Logan, once, twice, then just stops as Logan’s jaws clamp around his throat. Fangs press into fur and flesh, and blood starts to well around Logan’s mouth.
The clearing goes quiet. Too quiet.
“Logan,” Kai warns softly. “Don’t.”
The wolf pays his commander no mind. Logan’s eyes are wild and gold and burning with an intensity that, like Reece’s hate, is deathly personal.
"Call him off,” Talyn tells Kyrian. He is on his knees with the rest of the sentries, his jaw set in fury of defeat. Apparently, Kai and Kyrian have resolved that trouble efficiently enough. Talyn grips Kyrian’s gaze. “You do not want to start your homecoming with murder.”
“Debatable word choice,” Kyrian says.
“It’s the word choice your brother will use.”
Kyrian sighs. “Logan, let the piece of shit go before it gives you indigestion."
Talyn growls.
So does Logan. What he doesn’t do is let go. Reece’s legs twitch weakly.
Kyrian twists sharply to the wolf pair, alarm flashing in his blue gaze. He takes a step toward the wolves.
More blood wells around Logan’s canines.
Kyrian curses but stops. "Everyone, back away from Rowan,” he orders, his eyes never leaving Logan's rigid form. “Now. Move slowly.”
